Lifesaver
by Tall Blonde and Eyebrows
Summary: But the thing that made James do a double take was not the man's face, but his body. Muscled, toned, with faint lines separating distinct abs and a "V" leading down to his… tail. His giant fish tail. Kames and Cargan.
1. Great News!

Powerful C.E.O. Arthur Griffin spread out a map across his desk, a bright, red X contrasting against the nitty gritty of the old, graying paper. With a devious smirk, he picked up the receiver of his office phone, quickly dialed a familiar number.

"Gustavo," he greeted, smiling only growing when the man in response let out a gasp of nervousness. Without missing a beat, Griffin continued cheerfully, "Great news!"

* * *

><p>James smiled brightly as he slipped into his wetsuit, so used to the abnormal feeling of water and dish soap and the waterproof material sticking to every inch of his body, it felt like a second skin. This was the absolute best part of the job, being able to dive deep beneath the waves and see everything marine biology had to offer.<p>

"_DOG! Are you ready yet? Hurry up and get in the water!_" the small communicator hanging on his waist sounded.

…And that was probably the worst part, James thought with an eye roll. Dealing with his boss, the highly tempered Gustavo Rocque was always such a _joy!_ And by joy, he meant pain in the ass, but, whatever. He'd deal with it as long as he got to do what he loved.

"Yeah, Gustavo," he replied, fastening the tank of oxygen to his back and putting goggles over his hazel eyes. "I'm going in now." His last comment, something along the lines of _asshole_, was muffled by the mouthpiece currently held between his lips.

Careful, as so he wouldn't fall over in his flippers, James crossed the rest of the distance of the wooden dock, and jumped into the water, immersing himself with a cool rush that always followed when he was in the sea. He took two deep breaths of the pressurized air, just to make sure everything was in working order.

"_Hurry up! You're wasting my time which means you're wasting my money!_"

But not even Gustavo's insensate yelling couldn't ruin James' good mood; the brunette just smiled and slipped farther beneath the surface, his smile widening at every small fish and animal that passed him on his way.

It didn't make sense Gustavo was so impatient, anyway. This was just a run of the mill dive, merely for observation, making sure the waters were fresh and clean enough for all the organisms to live. The man seriously needed a chill pill.

Oh, well. James never really spent enough time actually listening to Gustavo to give him a correct diagnosis for all his problems, and he was _not_ going to start now.

He'd leave that to any doctors or therapists who dared.

Besides, he was too busy enjoying the view.

Going under the sea was always breathtakingly beautiful. Somehow, giving everything a blue tint made the whole world clearer, gave James a new sense of security and wisdom as if everything he'd ever want or need to know was here with the starfish and coral reefs.

Every Nemo and Dory that passed seemed to have a smile and little bubbles of hello, which James happily returned with a nod of his own. It was so much more peaceful down here than up there with crime and liars and pedophiles and whatever else bad people. The worse down here were tiger sharks and James was pretty sure he'd rather deal with that than Gustavo everyday.

As far as James was concerned, the ocean was perfect. If he could, he'd certainly pack up and live here. He settled for second best, getting a nice condo that overlooked the coast of California where the beach was his front lawn.

Luckily, when he moved, he was quickly able to find a nice job with good pay that allowed him to use his love of the sea for good. Made some friends of the other employees, like an overly hyper intern named Carlos and Gustavo's helpful assistant Kelly. He was sure he was on the fast tract to making all his dreams (a big house, bags of money everywhere, being surrounded with beautiful people, just like him) come true. All in all, James couldn't complain about his life.

James started to tread water, stopping at the ledge of what seemed to be a colossal rock, right before the land dipped into a large circular fissure. The water there was cooler and darker because of the lack of light managing to reflect in the seemingly bottomless sinkhole. The water there was a magnificent dark blue, standing out from the lighter, shallower shades of blue around it. Even the other fish and crabs seemed to stay clear of the blue hole, so James, smartly, did the same thing.

Taking a couple bags out from his belt, the scuba diver quickly collected a couple samples of different corals, rocks, and bacteria. In the corner of his eye, James could just make out something weird. As his gloved fingers moved away other pieces of stone and gravel, five fish scales came into view.

But they weren't like any scales James had ever seen before.

They… they were _shining_.

Brilliant colors and shades seemed to mix together magically to make up theses scales. A couple of them were almost pink with different dots of purple and streaks red, like magenta. The others were green. Or blue. Maybe both, 'cause when James held them up to get a better look, they changed colors as if they were merely holographic images or just a simple mirage.

"_Whoa,_" the brunette tried say, bubbles coming out and sticking to his goggles, blocking his view. He quickly brought a hand up to smear away the obstruction. When he could see again, he froze.

Right in front of him was a—James couldn't believe his eyes—but a man? That was what was swimming before his goggled eyes. A man with a strong jaw, big nose, and an even larger mouth stretched into something like a smile. His eyes were green—blue—aquamarine? James wasn't sure, but whatever they were, they were beautiful, glowing literally with curiosity and mischief.

But the thing that made James do a double take was not the man's face, but his body. Muscled, toned, with faint lines separating distinct abs and a "V" leading down to his… tail. His giant fish tail.

_What?_

But it was true; the man had a freaking _tail _instead of legs. Just like his eyes, the tail was beautifully colored some tint of blue-green-aquamarine-turquoise and shimmered so brightly, it made everything else seem plain and insignificant in comparison—the once stunning ocean was left looking murky and dark next to this gorgeous man.

Slowly, James looked down at the scales in his right hand then back to the man's tail. This must be where the scales came from, the diver thought. The scales came from a mermaid? Or maybe the correct term was mer_man_… but he wouldn't know, 'cause, you know, James wasn't exactly educated in the culture between fish men!

The merman's smile transformed into an impish smirk at James' obvious wonder and shock. With two graceful swishes of his tail, the merman was right before James. He arched a dirty blonde eyebrow as if asking a question, but then shrugged when James did nothing but stare at him.

Although, James had a hard time staring when the merman began circling him with outstretched arms to lightly trail his fingers curiously up and down the brunette's statuesque body, his already sluggish movements slowing even more when his hands were running along the diver's legs and flipper-covered feet.

When the blonde's interest with James' legs were satisfied, he brought his hands back up to the diver's shoulders, trailed them leisurely down James' bicep and tricep, down his forearm, around his wrist, and let his fingers dance around the diver's open palm.

The merman met James' astonished gaze and offered another smile before collecting the glowing scales and swimming quickly away. Within one blink of the human's eyes, the merman was already at least twenty feet away.

Only then did James get his senses back, finally able to move. He called out a quick, "_Wait!_" to the creature, flailing one arm to get rid of the annoying bubbles. He wasn't even sure why he called out, why he didn't want the mythological being to leave him out there.

Thinking never was his strong suit.

The merman turned back once more, amusement shining in those haunting eyes. With a quick wink and a little wave of departure, the creature turned around again and swam away.

James stared until the magical glow of the merman was completely gone. He blinked once, twice, four times. Did that really happen? Was it possible that mermaids and merman existed? Did James really just see—

"_Dog! Get back up here right now!_" his communicator rang out, breaking the diver's thoughts. "_What's taking you so long?_"

_If only you knew_… James thought, beginning his ascent to the surface. But then he couldn't help but think _If only _I _knew._

* * *

><p>Okay, so that's the new story :) I know there are a couple other stories about mermen for BTR, but I've never seen a Kames one; only some Cargan, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. How'd I do? I probably won't update this again until Satisfaction is done, that has about four chapters to go beofre it's finished. Hope you all enjoyed :)<p> 


	2. Come Hither

As soon as James resurfaced, breaking the top of the sea into a multitude of small waves and ripples, his boss was hovering over him, asking hurriedly, "What did you see? Did you see anything?"

James didn't answer. Instead, he hauled himself up on the dock, pulling off his goggles and removing his oxygen tube from between his lips, thinking of his answer. What did he see? How was he supposed to answer that? _Hey, Gustavo, I saw a pretty merman _just didn't seem like a very scientific response.

"I saw…" From the corner of one hazel iris, James almost swore there was a flash of blonde hair, a flicker of glowing green. He closed his eyes. "…nothing new. I did take a couple routine coral samples. We can run them, but I doubt we'll learn anything new today."

There was a pause and the diver forced himself not to panic.

Gustavo couldn't know what was down there. Hell, James didn't even know what was down there and he was the one who saw it!

"…Okay, dog," the boss finally said, turning away and starting the distance back to shore. "Back to the office and hurry up and test those samples! Griffin wants an analysis by three!"

* * *

><p>By the time James Diamond made it back to the offices-slash-laboratory, he was able to convince himself everything that happened that morning in the ocean was just a hallucination. He didn't eat breakfast that morning. It was the most important meal of the day for a reason.<p>

He put it all past him and made his way to the lab to do the tests on the coral samples for Griffin before three. The C.E.O. was not someone to leave waiting.

On his way there, Carlos Garcia, a new intern who had quickly grown on James, stopped him with a bear hug and a huge grin. "James! Anything cool out there today?"

James' answer was immediate. "Nope! Nothing new. Coral. Bacteria. Rocks. You know, the usual. Ha ha… ha."

"Oh." Carlos didn't seem too disappointed. In fact, he was almost bouncing off the walls in enthusiasm. "Guess where we're going tonight!"

That could've meant a multitude of things. Dinner at the best local fast food joint, sky diving, out to a petting zoo, or even, on more than one occasion, honky-tonkin'. (James personally enjoyed the latter; he got to practice his acting skills and he looked damn good as a cowboy.)

So James just grinned, pretending to think for a moment. "I give up. What're we going to do?"

"Mermaid hunting!"

James almost choked on his own saliva. "_Wh-what!_"

* * *

><p>James grumbled to himself, watching the beam of artificial light from his flashlight on the sand. How did Carlos talk himself into this? The boy had come in with talks about a rumor of mermaid sightings and big, brown puppy dog eyes. And, of course, James had caved.<p>

Curse that boy.

Now he was stuck, walking along the shore line until Carlos had gotten bored enough to go home. _Mermaids…_ James rolled his eyes. Had everyone skipped breakfast? He kept his trail, enjoying the waves crashing against his bare feet, lightly singing to himself.

Then his flashlight landed on a rock hanging over the water and the diver gasped.

There _he_ was.

Even outside of the water, the merman seemed to glow, the pale skin of his back just gleaming in the moonlight. James could make out the smooth shoulders blades moving slightly beneath that creamy skin, the undersized yet defined muscle wrapped around his torso, the small bumps of his biceps, the blonde hair winding softly into the nape of his neck.

Slowly, James walked closer, just for a better look.

To make sure it was real.

At the sound of shifting sand, the merman twisted at the waist to face the stranger. He raised a challenging eyebrow at James, a perfect expression of come hither that had James' heart pounding. Or maybe it was just his glimmering green eyes, full of humor and interest and mischievousness. James swallowed once. That much beauty was almost hard to take.

Plus, the little fact about his, um, tail, positioned innocently on the rock, was a _bit_ overwhelming, too.

Licking his suddenly dry lips, James stammered out a quick, "H-hi."

And the merman exhaled, "Hello."

As soon as the word left the merman's lips, James realized he expected something fishlike, maybe a dolphin's chirp or a whale's wail. English words? Wow. Incredulous, he asked, "You can _talk?_ Why didn't you say anything last time?"

The merman looked up from beneath his blonde lashes, letting them flutter slightly. "I'm shy," he teased with a small grin.

And James chose to ignore the smoldering of green eyes, the flirtatiousness of the comment, and, of course, the blood rushing to his cheeks. Because he was so _not_ blushing. James Diamond did _not_ blush, ever. At all. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

The merman feigned hurt. "Aw, you don't like me?"

"No!" James blurted, totally not blushing. "I m-mean, I don't not like you. I'm sure you're a very nice mer-person in your own right, and, well, I think—what I mean is—ugh." The brunette shook his head in embarrassment, not even daring to look at the merman. No doubt he was smirking with his big lips with his mischievous twinkling eyes—

He had to stop that.

Thinking about the merman's beauty was definitely not helping to get James' mind focused.

The brunette sighed. "I'm James," he introduced quietly. At least, he could say his name without messing it up. What an accomplishment.

The merman grinned brightly, his smile lighting up the dark sky around them. "My name's Kendall," he replied smoothly, "and to answer your last question, I have something to give you." He raised one hand; lying innocently in his flat palm, were luminescent green scales piled against each other.

James' eyes widened. "Why are you giving this to me…?"

"You wanted them, right? I only took them last time because my baby sister wanted them. She likes using them to make brassieres." Kendall rolled his eyes. "She's a little too young for that, but whatever. These are different ones. You can have them, if you want. I don't mind."

James ran his fingers along the pile in the merman's hand, eyeing the scales with wonder, mind reeling at the smooth texture. And then the pad of one finger brushed against soft, pale skin and suddenly, like lightning, green clashed with hazel.

"Uh, thank you…" James muttered, (not) blushing again as he averted his eyes and quickly grabbed the scales and placed them carefully in his jacket, keeping his hands there, too.

Kendall was still staring at the tanned man when he answered, "No problem."

Finally, James looked up with a smile, saying, "You know, you're—"

"James!" Carlos' voice called from the distance. "James! Where are you? Did you find the mermaid?"

As the brunette's face grew hot with humiliation, Kendall leaned in with a smirk. "You were looking for me, pretty boy?" he whispered.

Another wave of embarrassment washed over James at the nickname. "W-well, not exactly… I—"

"James!"

The voice, while always boisterous, seemed to be getting louder, like he was—again, James' eyes widened. "You have to go," James urged; "He's coming now."

"Aw, you're being mean again," Kendall pouted playfully. "You don't want me to meet your friends? I thought we had something special, pretty—!"

Swiftly, James pushed the blonde back into the ocean with a strident slash.

"Sorry!" the diver whisper-yelled. But even as he apologized, he couldn't help the small grin that curled his lips. Ha, served Kendall right, being so smug and mischievous and pretty—

"James! There you are!" exclaimed Carlos happily from right behind him.

James turned around quickly, flashing a bright smile. "Yeah, 'course I'm here, buddy. Where'd you think I would be? With a merman—err, mermaid? Well, nope! Just right here!" He laughed noisily and fakely, but Carlos just continued smiling at him.

"Well, okay," the Latino said. "You ready to go?"

James spared one more meaningful glance to the sea, but the only sign there was that a majestic creature had just been there was the small ripples still circling. "Yeah, Carlitos," he drawled, tearing his eyes away. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Okay, so, for the record, I realize that James and Kendall are kind of out of character. But it's on purpose. Here's my reasoning: Kendall is a mermaid (merman…whatever) and merpeople are very sensual and seductive creatures. And in James' case, I don't care how confident and good with people (ladies) you are, if you ever met a merperson, you'd probably be a little shaken up and more or less dazed and amazed. I was going to make James the merman because he's such a slut, but then I thought, eh, he always gets to be the slut! It's Kendall's turn! So there you have merman!Kendall :) Hope you enjoyed!<p> 


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